


you're right by my side

by Orange_Coyote



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Competitive Streak, Flashbacks, Hopeful Ending, Hurt Steve Rogers, Hurt Tony Stark, M/M, Mission Fic, Missions Gone Wrong, POV Tony Stark, Pre-Relationship, Protective Steve Rogers, Protective Tony Stark, Short One Shot, but nothing graphically described, i feel like there are tags i'm missing but oh well, oneupsmanship, they both have hero savior complexes tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-18 03:54:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28860636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Orange_Coyote/pseuds/Orange_Coyote
Summary: Tony and Steve are taken by surprise on a mission and have to work together to get out in one piece.
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Comments: 6
Kudos: 10
Collections: POTS (18+) Stony Stocking 2020





	you're right by my side

**Author's Note:**

  * For [elwenyere](https://archiveofourown.org/users/elwenyere/gifts).
  * In response to a prompt by [elwenyere](https://archiveofourown.org/users/elwenyere/pseuds/elwenyere) in the [stony_stocking_2020](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/stony_stocking_2020) collection. 



> **Prompt:**
> 
> 1) elwenyere #7972
> 
> 2) Short Prompts:  
> \- Hurt!Steve saves Tony  
> 3) Long Prompts  
> \- Steve and Tony are trapped in a dangerous situation, and they're both competing to see who gets to be more protective of the other.  
> Basically took these two prompts, mashed them together, and ran wth it. Hope you enjoy!  
> Title from the song "Protector" by Kim Walker-Smith

"Come on, Cap. Work with me here. I may be Iron Man but I can't drag your dead weight around without the suit."

Steve grunted but made an effort to move his feet and take some of his own weight, which Tony was grateful for. He should have been prepared for something like this to happen, but even he hadn't expected a run of the mill recon mission to turn into a full on firefight.

AIM had upped their game since the last time the Avengers had ran into them. They still used the terrible costumes and the predictable lair layout, but the weapons upgrade had taken Tony (and Steve) by surprise. Where had they gotten all this new tech??

Tony shook his head and refocused himself on the task of finding some safe cover for them. He could only drag Steve around for so long before his own body would give out. Three hours worth of near death experiences would do that to a person.

_Three hours earlier_

"Iron Man! Watch out! On your six!"

Tony twisted around just in time to be pushed to the ground, a mound of supersoldier laying on top of him. He coughed as the full brunt of Steve's weight knocked the air from his lungs. "Ow. What the fuck, Cap?!"

"Bullet, they were aiming at the hinge in the armor where the neck plate snaps in. Didn't want to take any chances." Before Tony could respond that he could handle himself just fine, the other man was already on his feet and trading punches with the agent who had pulled the trigger.

"Ugh," Tony grumbled, then rejoined the fray himself.

_Two hours earlier_

"Tony, no! What are you doing?!"

"Pretty sure the suit can handle a little fire, Spangles. It's not a big deal."

Steve moved to step around Tony, but Tony kept pace ahead of him and continued to shield Steve from the flames being blasted their way.

"Don't be ridiculous, Steve. You dropped the shield and while your suit may be flame retardant, I'd feel a hell of a lot safer if you just let me handle this."

"Fine, put that flamethrower on its ass already so I can get back in there."

"Did you just say ass?"

"Focus, Tony."

"Yeah, yeah. I can save your life _and_ dwell on the fact that you said ass. I'm a genius, we're good at multitasking."

_One hour earlier_

Tony gaped at the man now laid out on the floor. "Are they even conscious right now?"

Steve huffed and shook out his hand. "I don't know. But we need to keep moving."

Tony hopped a few steps to catch up with Steve's wider stride, keeping an eye out for any more surprises. "Geez, you didn't have to nearly decapitate the guy."

"You saw what I saw. He was obviously genetically enhanced, and we don't have time for another stretched out battle. I don't know about you but I'm starting to get exhausted, which means we've been at this at least two hours too long."

"You're telling me."

_30 minutes earlier_

"We need to stop with this one-upmanship we've got going before one of us really does end up dead."

"It would probably help if you stopped putting yourself in the line of fire."

"Did Mr. Throw Myself On A Live Grenade just tell me _I'm_ the problem?"

Steve had the decency to look sheepish as he stopped to lean against the battered cement wall. "Your suit was down. What else was I supposed to do?"

Tony tugged on Steve's arm to get the man moving again, then chuckled despite himself. "Oh, I don't know. How about kicking it out of the room? Or tossing it back at the AIM idiots to buy us some time?"

"We didn't know how much time we'd have before it would blow. I followed my instincts."

"And your instincts said 'Quick! Jump on that grenade! It worked out last time.'?"

"We both made it out alive, didn't we?"

"Not the point, Rogers. What happened to not sacrificing ourselves?"

"That's not what I said."

"That's what I heard."

Steve groaned as they sharply turned a corner, searching for the stairs that would lead them back up to the ground floor. Stupid underground lairs. If the suit were at all viable, Tony would have just shot through the ceiling, to hell with any cave-in potential.

_Present moment_

Tony nearly cheered when the hallway ended in a staircase leading up. Even a few floors should be enough to reach a level where the frequency would be able to break through the scrambler they'd encountered, and he could use the emergency distress signal sewn into Steve's costume. Losing contact with the tower had been beyond irritating and Tony could imagine the chewing out he'd receive from the rest of the team once they got back in touch.

They approached the stairwell as cautiously as they could in their current conditions, Steve insisting upon taking the front position in case any stragglers happened to be hiding out and ready to attack. Tony rolled his eyes but let the stubborn idiot take the lead.

Steve gave the all clear and Tony resumed helping the other man along, pushing one of Steve's arms across his shoulders to help lessen the burden of his weight. Steve gave him the side eye, as if Tony would crumble and submit to a stare he'd more than gotten used to by now, then sighed and carried on without a word.

Each step felt like a miniature earthquake inside his muscles, but eventually they reached the top of the stairwell with no surprise AIM agent interactions. Tony huffed and slid to the ground, sluggishly reaching out to trigger the emergency signal hidden inside the seam of Steve's suit. He would have used his own, but the armor had been so terribly damaged it would have been moot anyway.

"Sit and rest, Tony. I can keep watch until rescue gets here to pick us up."

Tony would have risen to his feet out of spite if he could've managed it, but his legs might as well have been hit with a jelly legs jinx. Instead he looked up at Steve, face covered in soot and his suit ripped in a few places, and gave him the best unimpressed look he could muster. "I'm just fine, thank you very much. But I think I will take a load off, not because you suggested it but because I could use a breather. Maybe take a nap. How long til evac?"

Steve shook his head, slowly enough to give Tony a rush of worry. "I don't know. Could be an hour, could be three." He looked down at Tony then, and Tony commiserated with the fatigue he saw in those blue eyes. "Get some sleep if you want. I won't let anything happen to you."

"Of course you wouldn't," Tony said through a yawn. "You're Captain America."

Tony let his eyes slide shut, and just before his exhaustion overtook his determination to stay awake until their lift arrived, he could have sworn he'd heard Steve say, "Of course I wouldn't, because you're the man who gave me a home here. And I'll never forget it."

But of course, Tony's mind was probably playing tricks on him. Sleep deprivation and agitated injuries had that effect on a person.


End file.
